June 26, 2023 at 1:56 p.m.
Team review: RHS boys' tennis
Hodag netters continue to roll in the north
Team review: RHS boys' tennis
Rhinelander cruised to a ninth straight Great Northern Conference title, going a perfect 8-0 in league duals and nearly going undefeated in the GNC tournament.
The Hodags went 17-6 overall, finished second in a Division 1 subsection in Wausau and parlayed that into a third place finish in WIAA sectionals.
Furthermore, Rhinelander had its first winner at the WIAA boys' state tournament in 14 years as the doubles tandem of Layne Roeser and Joey Belanger won their opening round match in Madison.
It all added up for another successful spring for the Hodags in coach Matt Nichols' third year on the job.
"I think it speaks to the history and the future. We're going to keep going and keep working hard in the offseason, keep working hard in practice and we want to keep the tradition alive," Nichols said.
Here are five storylines from the recently-completed season.
Early season tests
The Hodags had a busy early-season non-conference schedule, playing in an two invites in Wausau and one in De Pere, all before May 1. Rhinelander went a combined 7-5 in those tournaments, with the majority of the losses coming against Division 1 schools from either the Fox Valley or southeastern parts of the state.
During the team's banquet, assistant coach Wil Losch said those tests were key to prepare Rhinelander fo the stretch run of the season.
"Five of our six losses came in our tournaments," he said. "We're certainly not happy about those loses, we don't strive for them, but they're an important part of our program. These were fun, team bonding weekends, but they were also great weekends for our players to develop and we're going against some of the best programs in the state as well. It's a great measuring stick."
GNC dominance
The non-conference tests made another run through the GNC relatively easy. The Hodags took firm control of the conference race when they swept Medford in a doubleheader 5-2 and 7-0 on May 9. Two more wins over Antigo gave Rhinelander a undefeated mark in league play entering the conference tournament.
The Hodags parlayed a nearly insurmountable advantage into another conference title. Rhinelander mathematically clinched the title during the seeding meeting as it earned a number of automatic byes into the semifinal round, and then nearly became the first team to sweep all seven flights of the conference tournament.
The only blemish came at No. 3 singles, where Gavin Denis fell to Medford's Conner Klingbeil in a marathon championship match where Klingbiel prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 10-8.
The Hodags had a clean sweep of the conference awards. Dalton Fritz took singles player of the year honors and the No. 1 singles crown despite being seeded third in the five-player draw. Joey Belanger and Layne Roeser reprised their roles as the doubles players of the year, taking the top flight in dominant fashion.
"It was such an exciting day and everyone played so well," said Nichols, who was voted the GNC's coach of the year. "Obviously, we came just a couple of points short at No. 3 singles. Gavin played a great game. I'm super proud of the way he finished that match. Unfortunate for the loss but six wins and a second place, hard to complain."
Playoff run
It was also hard to complain about how the Hodags fared in the WIAA tournament.
Rhinelander won a match at every flight, and advanced five of its flights through the subsectional round in Wausau. The Hodags advanced all three of their doubles teams, along with Fritz at No. 1 singles and Nick Lesch at No. 4 singles.
At sectionals, Belanger and Roeser became Rhinelander's first automatic state qualifiers since 2009 when they won their first round match against the fourth seed from the Menomonie subsectional, Colman Selvig and Jaxon Ruppelt fo Eau Claire North.
The Hodags had earned a pair of special exemptions since then, their most recent qualifiers were Connor Young and Logan Oestreich in 2019. It was part of a solid day overall for the Hodags, who had advanced to sectionals in five flights. The Hodags went 4-6 in their matches and wound up third overall in the 15-team sectional.
Belanger and Roeser were nearly joined by teammates Charlie Heck and Leo Losch at state. After defeating Menomonie's Brady Goodman and Charlie Behrend in straight sets in the semifinals at No. 2 doubles, Heck and Losch fell 7-5, 6-1 to Eau Claire Memorial's Ben Roberts and Jack Willems in the finals.
At state Belanger and Roeser advanced to the round of 32, defeating Franklin's Julian Beckmann and Aidan Irish in straight sets on Thursday before falling to Germantown's Conner Pallan and Cole Neinas, the No. 15 seed in the draw, in the second round.
"It's always nice to finish down in Madison at state. Even better, they got a win that first round," Hodag coach Matt Nichols said. "That's huge. They finished top 32. They beat half the other guys that went down there. It was fun to watch, fun to experience and I'm proud of them."
Statbook
The tandems to Belanger and Roeser and Heck and Losch led a dominant doubles squad for Rhinelander this year. Belanger and Roeser finished 24-4 together at No. 1 doubles while Heck and Losch were 23-3 together, mainly at No. 2 doubles - though they picked up a win at No. 1 doubles during a match against Medford back on May 9.
"Watching Leo and Charlie play one doubles that second round I'm thinking, 'Yep, they could play there easily. We just happen to have a better team, which is awesome,'" Nichols said. "Charlie and Leo went through without much opposition. They're just a very quality team, very disciplined."
Eli Lundt and Dawson Pontell rounded out Rhinelander's strong doubles lineup, going 21-4 together.
Singles was a bit of a question going into the year after the Hodags graduated their top two players from 2022. Dalton Fritz made the leap from No. 4 singles to the top flight this year, going 12-13 on the season. While the record was sub-.500, Fritz's season included a conference championship at No. 1 singles and a trip to sectionals after he avenged two losses fo Marshfield's Kai Rens earlier in the year.
"People that he lost to early in the season, at the end of the season he beat," Nichols said. "He beat (Dominic Gironella of) Lakeland. He beat Marshfield to qualify for sectionals. It just goes to show the mindset he had. When he went to these tournaments and got beat, he got beat on paper but he truly grew from it, learned and then became better because of it. It was really exciting to watch."
John Currie moved from No. 3 to No. 2 this year, going 18-7. Denis wound up 10-11 on the year at the No. 3 flight and Lesch went 14-9 in the fourth flight.
What's next
The 2024 season figures to be a flip for Rhinelander compared to this spring. Next year, the Hodags will bring back all of their starters from the singles' side of the lineup, but will have to replace four of six players out of its doubles lineup - with only Belanger and Pontell slated to return.
Nichols said, given some of the underclassmen who played limited varsity and varsity reserve matches this spring, the team should have the ability to continue its run of dominance.
"Where are we going in 2024? It's going to be up to the underclassmen coming up," Nichols said during the banquet. "I hope you can look up to the seniors and some of the upperclassmen, see the work they've put in and what it takes to get there."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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